Make Your Move (3 page)

“I thought you’d be sleeping off three months of work still,” she said, teasing him lightheartedly. Dan liked it that she knew him so well. He knew her, too.

For instance, he knew that she very likely had a date at her apartment last night. He knew that if he called, she’d probably cancel it to come see him and send the guy home. He wanted to feel ashamed of that, but he didn’t.

“I recovered pretty quickly. New diet. I’ve been exercising more, as well. It was the only way to stay sane in D.C. We worked nearly 24/7.”

“You didn’t say much. Is it one of those things where you could tell me about it, but then you’d have to kill me?”

“More like if I told you about it, you’d probably be bored to death,” he responded, grinning. Banter with Jodie was always easy.

“I’ve barely seen daylight for ninety days,” he admitted, keeping one arm slung loosely around her as they turned into the shop.

“Poor l’il genius,” she teased, and he laughed.

In truth, the work had been fascinating, but she was right, he couldn’t talk about it. Dan wondered if Jodie would see him differently—if he’d be sexier or more attractive to her—if she knew that his work had probably helped save millions of lives.

It was irrational to speculate, but since he’d left D.C.
he’d had only one thing on his mind: seeing Jodie. Usually he forgot everything when he was working, but it seemed that this time, he’d been more distracted. He’d thought of calling her while he was there, but security procedures prohibited it.

He was simply dealing with the usual disorientation he always experienced after an intense project, feeling grumpy and disconnected for the past few days. He hadn’t felt as though the world was right again until Jodie showed up at his door last night. It might be irrational, but it was true.

As they’d talked into the night, he’d experienced something a little more intense than friendship. It wasn’t the first time—he’d repressed an attraction to Jodie for years—but she’d been on his mind more than not lately. If he’d found it difficult to leave Chicago three months ago, it was because he’d be away from her. Those thoughts and feelings were exactly why he’d decided he had to go. But he hadn’t been interested in being with anyone since.

Three months was a long time to go without a bed partner, even for him. Physical release was part of maintaining a healthy mind, and he’d always enjoyed sex when the opportunity presented itself. He looked at her again, paying more attention to the soft swell of her breasts, the grace of her neckline.

As they stood close, he closed his eyes and used a quick meditation technique he’d learned directly from Tibetan monks to will his very sex-starved body not to respond to the scent of her pretty hair.

She was his friend. She was his business partner. He shouldn’t be sporting a woody from hugging her.

When she kissed him on the cheek, knocking his glasses sideways, they laughed and she disentangled herself, letting him set his vision right. And she
was
a vision, all pink cheeked and blue eyed. She didn’t see him as anything other than a friend, never had, never would. He’d wished for more from time to time, but had discounted it as a random urge. Except that it kept coming back. Now, in their thirties, his mind was turning more seriously to the possibility.

“Dan? Dan? Yoo-hoo. You in there?”

He smiled, embarrassed. Sometimes she could take him back to being a virginal seventeen-year-old. Other times he wanted to show her just how much he knew about a woman’s body and how it worked.

“Sorry. Still getting back into the swing of things. You know how it is.”

She rolled her eyes, taking his hand. “I do. Braincloud.”

“Braincloud,” he repeated agreeably. Though he was really clear as a bell, focused intently on her soft hand in his.

Damn, her skin was like silk. He knew it was simply due to the high moisture content of her cells, good genes and proper care of her epidermis to prevent damage from sun and loss of oils, but none of that reduced the effect of her feminine fingers lightly clasping his. He had to close his eyes again, almost tripping as she pulled him across the front of the store, to try to tamp his body’s response.

“Dan, I want you to meet Jason. You guys are both…” she said, drifting off as she saw his reaction, and Jason’s. Dan hadn’t been aware of anyone in the store but Jodie.

“Dr. Kravitz,” Dan said coolly.

“Dr. Ellison,” Jason returned in the same tone. “Back so soon?”

Dan’s smiled quirked. “I made it clear I’d be back for the start of the new semester,” he said with a smile. “After all, I am department chair this year, as well.”

Dan loved teaching and hadn’t had as much time for it in recent years, but this time he’d limited his time away over the summer. It was time to start making some changes. For over a decade, he’d been at the service of whoever wanted to make use of his intellect, but now he was going to start doing the things that made him happy. Teaching. Working in his lab. Being with friends.

Being with Jodie.

He also loved being at the university, and while most of his colleagues were a pleasure to work with, Jason Kravitz was a snake. More than that, he was a bad scientist, someone who worked only for his own profit and who had displayed other unethical behaviors, at least from what Dan had heard through the grapevine. Jason worked nearby, and Dan was grateful that he only ever saw Jason in passing or at departmental meetings. Though, since he’d asked to chair the department this year—which, in part, meant supervising courses, professors and projects—he would be seeing more of him.

Dan was a peaceful guy. He believed in live and let
live, and he liked most people he came into contact with, but Jason had always rubbed him the wrong way.

So what was he doing here, and why was Jodie introducing them?

A quick deduction punched him in the gut…Jason was the guy Jodie was with the night before.

Dan had to bite his tongue, hard.

She deserved so much better, but he’d never been able to get her to believe it. The one time he’d tried talking her out of sleeping with a guy he knew at school was the only serious argument they ever had. They hadn’t spoken for a month. She said he was judging her. He wasn’t.

Jason had a reputation in their small academic circle as a womanizer. He bragged about using the popular image of science geeks in the media to get women into bed at conferences and bars. There were also rumors about him having affairs with lab assistants and his advisees—clearly unethical behavior, though nothing was ever proven.

“Uh, you two know each other?” Jodie asked.

“Yes,” they responded simultaneously, in the same monotone laced with dislike.

“We work in the same department at Northwestern, but manage different labs. Our offices are on the same floor,” Dan clarified. “What are you doing here, Jason?”

“Visiting with Jodie. We’ve been dating. I had no idea you knew each other. She never mentioned you,” Jason said casually, putting a hand on Jodie’s shoulder.

Dating?
As in, more than Jodie’s usual one-night
flings? Jodie had told him the guy she was with the night before wasn’t someone she was all that interested in, which was why she’d cut the date short to come see him. Jason certainly made it sound like they had more going on.

Dan didn’t have a good mantra for this particular situation. Never being inclined to violence, he’d never had to ask the monks how to avoid the urge to slam his fist into someone’s face.

“We’ve only been on one date,” Jodie corrected gently, smiling at them both. Dan hoped his relief wasn’t too evident.

Still, had they slept together? Was she so impressed she was agreeing to see Jason again? He was coming here, to her workplace, to flirt? To
seduce
her?

Dan saw all shades of red though he was hoping his exterior didn’t betray his thoughts. Thinking of Jodie with Jason made his highly developed mind turn caveman.

“We were out last night,” Jodie said, “but I didn’t feel well so we called it a night early.”

Her eyes met his, and Dan took it for the hint that it was. Don’t tell him about last night. It made him feel better—and worse. She’d blown Jason off for him, but she didn’t want Jason knowing that.

“We’re going to more than make up for it later,” Jason said, sticking the knife in a little deeper.

“Later?” Dan said without thinking.

“I wanted to make up my date with Jason, since I had to beg off last night,” she explained, her cheeks turning pink.

He’d stopped Jodie from sleeping with Jason. Maybe he was lucky. Or maybe not, since it sounded like she was intent on seeing him again.

Dan suddenly realized he hadn’t said a word, standing there like an idiot, and he caught the knowing glint in Jason’s eyes as he bent down and kissed Jodie—on the cheek.

“Well, I—I have to go, Jodie.” Jason stammered enough to sound shy and a little unsure. “See you later?”

The bastard, Dan thought, curling his fingers into fists as he observed Jason’s naive act. Women really fell for this?

Jodie sparked up. “Oh, wait! I can’t—I forgot I already have plans tonight.”

Dan’s relief was almost palpable.

“How about tomorrow night?” she said instead, and relief went out the window. He wasn’t used to this emotional roller coaster.

“Sure,” Jason agreed.

Dan ground his teeth. Jodie wasn’t inexperienced with men. Didn’t she see the predatory gleam in the guy’s eye? That he was only using her. That he was lying through his teeth? Dan then reminded himself that she probably didn’t care. As much as he loved Jodie, he knew she wasn’t much of a romantic. She was used to sex as sport, he thought sadly.

“I’ll see you then,” Jodie said with a friendly smile.

When Jason left, he slid Dan a covert glance that was completely galling.

Trouble was, there was no way to tell Jodie that Jason
was a dog without sounding jealous, needy, or causing the same problem they’d had years ago when he’d tried to interfere. Jodie didn’t like anyone telling her what to do, not even him. She’d had enough of that from her father. She wouldn’t listen to Dan if he warned her off Jason; in fact, it might even make Jason more appealing.

“Dan, you okay? You look like you should sit down.”

He shook his head, smiling. “I’m fine. Tired. Lost in thought.”

“C’mon. Probably your blood sugar bottoming out, in which case, you are in the right place. Let’s get a snack and say hi to Ginger.”

She took his arm in hers and he found he wanted to pull her in, to gather her in close and protect her and make sure no man, certainly not a man like Jason Kravitz, laid one hand on her. Ever.

Instead, he walked with her to the kitchen, listening to her chatter about the bakery. Ginger welcomed him cheerfully. All the while, as they talked about D.C., the bakery and what was happening in Chicago, his mind was working out his problem. He could hear himself conversing with Jodie and Ginger but his mind was miles away.

He had less than a day to prevent Jodie from making a terrible choice. One day to keep her out of Jason’s bed.

Dan’s eyes landed on the Passionate Hearts cookies. In less than a minute, his problem was solved.

T
HE NEXT MORNING,
Jodie found herself in a replay of the day before.

Hustling back and forth from the kitchen, she looked at the clock and wondered where Ginger had gotten to. Again, she’d popped out to pick up Anna from Sunday school, but it was nearly eleven and it shouldn’t take her this long to get there and back. They were only open until one, but Ginger usually covered the counter while Jodie set up for Monday in the kitchen. Now, nothing was done and she wasn’t ready for her date with Jason, either.

Peevishness turned into concern. Ginger was not unreliable. Something had to be wrong. Jodie, who didn’t give into the impulse to worry too often, was very worried now.

She should call and cancel with Jason. She really didn’t want to give up her cherished Sunday night at home anyway. For whatever reason, her interest in taking him to bed had waned dramatically. She knew she was just seeing him out of guilt, for having walked out
on him Friday night. Usually, when it came to guys, she didn’t do guilt.

Looking up as the door opened, she hoped it was Ginger but instead saw the handsome runner from the day before. He stopped in the doorway, checking around a bit, and then focused on her, smiling.

“Hi.”

“Hi. Can I help you?”

He smiled in a slightly bashful way. “I hope so. First, I’m not a stalker or anything, but I was hoping that other girl, the one who waited on me yesterday, might be here?”

Jodie quirked an eyebrow. “Why?”

“She was…cute, if a little on the serious side, but I was hoping maybe she’d meet me for a coffee or something. I wanted to ask her. I’m Robert. Robert Castilla.”

“Hi Robert,” Jodie said, moving out from behind the glass case and standing with her arms crossed, regarding him closely. It wasn’t her place to give him information about Ginger. That didn’t mean she couldn’t give information to Ginger about him. “What kind of work do you do?”

“I’m a physical therapist at St. Mary’s Hospital. Been there for four years,” he answered easily. That explained the shape he was in, the care he took with that lithe, athletic body. It also said he liked to help people, and he probably wasn’t wealthy, but money wasn’t everything.

“Sox or Cubs?”

“Sox,” he said immediately, maybe a little hopefully. It wasn’t completely a fair question, since while she was
a Cubs fan, Jodie knew Ginger didn’t care a whit about baseball, being a devout Blackhawks fan.

“Do you like kids?” Jodie asked, remembering how Ginger said guys lost interest as soon as they found out she had a kid.

“Sure. Kids are cool. I work with a lot of them.”

“My friend…she’s a single mom.”

“I admire that. My sister is a single mother. Hard to believe someone that hot is a mom, though,” he said with a crooked grin, and Jodie’s heart warmed.

She smiled. “Okay, listen Robert, I can’t speak for her, but I can tell her you stopped by, and if you want to leave her your number or stop by Monday when she’s here all day, that’s fine. In fact, you can have coffee here, on the house,” Jodie added, making it both easy for him and safe for Ginger.

He appeared relieved to have passed muster but shook his head. “I have to work an extra shift this week, covering vacations, but I’ll leave her my number, and could you let her know I was here?”

“Sure.”

He wrote down his name, phone number and e-mail in strong, male script. Jodie took it, putting it up on their bulletin board in the back. This would be good for Ginger, in spite of her worries.

Jodie glanced at the clock and realized she would be working the ovens for the afternoon. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, either. She grabbed a few Passionate Hearts, as they were right in front of her, and walked to the back to get some milk.

Her pheromones could use some action, and maybe
she could tell Jason they’d stay in, order some takeout, and she could work off this nervous energy that was building inside her. They’d both get what they wanted, and that would be that. She knew there wouldn’t be a third date.

Although having him at her place for the evening could give him ideas, she thought, munching and sipping the ice-cold milk. If she was going to do it, maybe better to go out. A quickie at a restaurant that had handy coat closets sounded fun. She could find some darkened corner where she could sneak her science geek away.

The idea had merit, she noticed, her nipples hardening a little as she closed her eyes and thought about what she and Dan could do in the dark corner of a crowded little coat closet, other patrons passing by only a few feet away.

She almost dropped her half-eaten cookie to the floor.
Dan?
No…she meant Jason.

She was getting her scientists mixed up. Peeking down at her traitorous nipples, she said sternly to herself, “Stop that. This thing you have about Dan is so not going to happen!”

Finishing her cookies, she took a deep breath and headed over to the counter, surprised to see the object of her minifantasy had just walked through the door of the shop.

“Hey Jodie—how’s it going?” Dan said, smiling. He didn’t usually come by the store so often, not that she was complaining.

He seemed casual enough, but something was different. She narrowed her eyes, trying to figure it out.

“Surprised to see you in here again so soon,” she said lightly, studying him and feeling her cheeks heat, no doubt because a few minutes earlier she’d been thinking about the two of them groping each other in close quarters.

“I was out for a Sunday morning walk, and wanted something sweet,” he said, looking at her so closely her cheeks turned warm. What the heck was going on?

He looked so…
hot.
Dan was always good-looking in his Clark Kent kind of way, but when had it ever hit her that he was really sexy? As in,
come over here behind the counter baby and I’ll give you something sweet
sexy?

She cleared her throat. “Well, we’re pretty picked over from the Sunday morning rush, but you’re still partner in this place. Help yourself,” she said, trying to smile, crossing her arms casually over her traitorous breasts.

Dan walked behind the counter, perusing the case. He moved to where she stood, and she inhaled his cologne—since when did Dan wear cologne?

“You—you’re wearing cologne,” she said lamely.

“Yeah. Do you like it?”

If the way she was suddenly aching in particular spots meant anything, then yes, she could say she did.

“It’s unusual for you,” she replied, her voice breathless. Maybe she was allergic to the scent, she realized, her mind feeling a bit fuzzy.

What the heck was happening here? She stepped away, but Dan traveled down the length of the case with her. He didn’t pay any attention to her. He simply
glanced through all the goodies as if deciding what he wanted.

She knew what
she
wanted, unfortunately, squeezing her thighs together beneath the apron, a small moan escaping her lips.

Then he straightened and faced her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, uh, I didn’t sleep well last night,” she lied.

There was a hint of mischief in his eyes, and his sandy-brown hair looked…soft. She itched to touch it.

“You’d never know it. You look gorgeous today. As usual,” he said in a low, sexy tone that seemed to rumble through her core.

“Thanks. You seem…different,” she said, again lacking for words as lust fogged her brain.

Dan, Dan, Dan,
her mind yelled, as if trying to get her lust-saturated brain to recognize how wrong this was. They were friends. They’d never looked at each other this way. She could tell by the way his hazel irises darkened, the pupils expanding, that he was responding to her, too.

The cookies. She’d eaten two of the cookies, and she was already missing sex over the last few weeks. Obviously, it was starting to affect her. Him, too.

He stared at her deeply, his eyes hungry, as if he wanted to pounce on her and bite her…in the best possible way.

“Oh, no,” she whispered, backing up and finding only the wall behind her.

“What? What’s wrong?”

“It’s the cookies, Dan, I had some cookies…that’s all. If you’re feeling a little, uh, turned on, that’s why. It’s not me. It’s the cookies,” she babbled desperately as he stepped in closer.

Oh my,
she thought, when something very prominent in his pants brushed her thigh. Her insides melted, quickly soaking her panties in sheer desire.

He reached up, pulled the scarf from her head and let her hair fall loose.

“I think it’s you, Jodie. Remember, the cookies only have an effect if you are releasing attractor pheromones of your own in the first place. The cookies are only an enhancement of what your body is already feeling,” he said on a hushed breath, his lips close but not touching hers.

“Oh,” was all she could manage, focused on his mouth.

“This is a long time coming,” he said in a husky, masculine whisper. “Do you know how many times I’ve thought about it, imagined it? But you were always off-limits.”

“Still am. You, too.” She was trying painfully to get him to see reason, though she really wanted him to push her up against the wall and do whatever he desired. “We’re partners. Friends,” she said, desperately.

“Yes. What’s a kiss between friends?” he asked, leaning in closer, speaking against her mouth. The feathery touch was so sexy she moaned again and couldn’t tear herself away.

She wanted him more than she’d ever wanted anyone, and her arms snaked themselves up around his neck, her
nipples tightening to an almost painful degree as she let herself press against him, seeking some kind of relief.

This can’t really be happening,
she thought, even as their mouths met and sank into a soft, openmouthed kiss that shook her to her soul.

She threaded her fingers into his hair, felt him take his glasses off even as they kissed, one arm coming around her back, the other sliding seductively behind her head where he held her steady. Without warning, he changed the kiss from a gentle seduction to a full-on penetration of his tongue into her mouth, rubbing against hers, opening her so completely that she couldn’t help but shudder from head to toe.

Jodie had been kissed by a lot of men. A lot. She wasn’t sure any man had ever kissed her this deeply, this thoroughly, or for this long.

He took his time, explored every bit of soft, wet skin. When he sucked her tongue into his mouth, moving the hand on her back to her breast, she gasped, a sudden orgasm rolling through her so easily she had to break the kiss to breathe, gasping as her head fell to his shoulder, the gentle pulse of pleasure easing over her.

“Damn,” he said roughly, sounding very unlike Dan and sexier than hell. He held her and she felt how hard he was and wanted to provide him some relief, too. Still, as the pleasure passed, awkwardness settled in. She couldn’t quite meet his eyes, her voice soft.

“Do you…?” she asked, as her hand lowered to touch him.

“No, not now. Not here,” he said, stopping her progress and tipping her face up so he could look at her. It
was so unexpectedly intimate that she couldn’t decide whether to escape or ask for more.

They stood like that, amazed and frozen in the moment for what seemed like a long, long time.

“Have dinner with me tonight, Jodie. Not Jason. Me,” he said.

She was finding it hard to focus, her body still warm from coming, and her eyes wouldn’t seem to move away from his mouth.

“I—I can’t…I mean, I’ll cancel with Jason, but with Ginger gone I think I have to stay and finish what I didn’t get done today.”

“Tomorrow night, then.”

She couldn’t say no, overwhelmed with the desire to be with him. The bell over the door rang and they jumped apart, and she saw Ginger and Jason walk in together.

Jodie tried to compose herself, but it was difficult after having Dan’s kiss trip her trigger, and her body was still begging for more.

One look at Jason’s stormy expression and she knew that he’d seen them together, or at least he knew something had happened, if not what. Ginger looked surprised, too, but her mouth quirked up in a part smile. “Sorry I’m late again, Jodie…or maybe not.”

Jodie looked at her with wide eyes, and the two men stared, saying nothing. Jodie crossed the space, flipping the sign to Closed and locking the door. They were closing soon anyway.

“Jason, I’m sorry—”

“What? Sorry for crawling all over another guy when you’re supposed to be with me?”

She arched an eyebrow, a chill of anger pushing away the heat of moments before. “I am not
with
you. We went out to dinner, and that was it. Even if it had been more, I wouldn’t be with you. I’m not
with
anyone, ever, and I don’t want to be.”

Jason’s attitude was harder, meaner and not at all like the shy science guy. An act?

He barked a laugh. “Oh, I
know
what you are, believe me. I was just hoping to get some action before you moved on to the next one in line.” He glanced sideways at Dan. “Looks like you jumped in ahead of me.”

Jodie watched as Dan moved quickly from the other side of the counter. She’d never seen him so angry.

“Watch yourself, Kravitz,” he warned, standing at her side where the cologne washed over her again. Her hormones wouldn’t settle down. She’d only had two cookies; they’d never had this strong an effect on her. They were supposed to affect the man—the man you were trying to attract or seduce.

Oh fudge.
Maybe that’s what had Dan so worked up and in Jason’s face, acting so unlike himself.

“Jason, you need to leave. Needless to say, I won’t be seeing you tonight or any night,” she managed to say sternly.

She heard him mutter
whore
under his breath. Dan stepped forward, but she moved faster, swinging and slapping his skinny face so hard that it knocked his head back.

“Don’t come in here. Ever,” she said in a voice coated with ice.

“Don’t worry about that,” he said, holding a hand to his jaw and glaring at her and Dan.

“This isn’t over, I promise,” he said to Dan as Jodie held the door open.